Scotland took a major step towards winning their Nations League group, and qualifying for the Euro 2024 playoffs in the process, as they defeated Ukraine comfortably at Hamden Park.
In an even beginning to the game, it was the home side that had the better chances, with Che Adams proving a threat in behind the Eastern Europeans’ defence.
But, a mixture of agricultural and quality defending kept the scoreline at 0-0 heading into the interval, and there were fears that Scotland could have missed their moment.
Those fears, however, were wide of the mark. The home side came out of the traps fast in the second half, spurning chance after chance with Adams and Stuart Armstrong particularly guilty of missing gilt-edged opportunities.
Finally, a moment of quality and composure arose, as John McGinn nudged Valeriy Bondar off the ball before lashing it home into the corner, handing Scotland a lead that they fully deserved.
And, two late headers from substitute Lyndon Dykes from corners sent in by fellow sub Ryan Fraser handed the scoreline the gloss that it deserved, meaning that Scotland need to beat Ireland and then avoid defeat in the return game against Ukraine to ensure that they finish top of their group, and head into the Euro 2024 playoffs.
📰 Table Of Contents
Scotland
GK: Craig Gordon – 6
One hairy moment aside, he had nothing to do except pass the ball to his defenders.
RB: Nathan Patterson – 6
Did nothing of note before he was stretchered off in the first half. Will be hoping that the injury sustained is not too serious.
CB: Jack Hendry – 7
Unfazed by the Ukrainian attackers, he turned in a strong performance at the heart of defence.
CB: Scott McKenna – 7
Made one brilliant sliding tackle to prevent a clear opportunity on the counter-attack, and looked untroubled for much of the night.
LB: Kieran Tierney – 7
The Arsenal man turned in another solid performance down the left-hand flank.
CM: Scott McTominay – 8
Industrious, tenacious and tough-tackling, McTominay made up for his lack of quality with his continued work rate.
CM: John McGinn – 7
Capped another strong performance with a goal, as his club woes seemed to dissipate.
CM: Callum McGregor – 7
Industrious as ever, the Celtic captain thrived next to McGinn as he broke up any semblance of Ukrainian attack.
RW: Stuart Armstrong – 7
Was lively and had a hatful of chances for the Scots but ultimately lacked the quality to take any of them.
ST: Che Adams – 8
Ploughed a lone farrow well and could have walked away with a goal on another night.
LW: Ryan Christie – 6
The quietest of the forwards, the Celtic man worked hard and looked after the ball well without really getting too involved in proceedings.
Substitutes:
Aaron Hickey – 7
Came on against the dangerous Mudryk early in the first half and in truth had little trouble containing him.
Ryan Fraser – 7
Was dynamic on the ball and a threat from set pieces, setting up two goals from corners.
Lyndon Dykes – 8
Two towering headers from corners taken by fellow substitute Ryan Fraser sealed the result.
Kenny McClean – N/A
Came on for the final 10 minutes.
Greg Taylor – N/A
Came on for the final 10 minutes.
Ukraine
GK: Anatoliy Trubin – 6
Made some strong saves to keep his side in the tie for as long as they were, and could not do anything about any of the goals.
RB: Oleksandr Karavaev – 5
Offered nothing going in either direction.
CB: Valeriy Bondar – 4
Perhaps lucky to stay on the pitch late in the first half, he was rolled far too easily by John McGinn for the opening goal.
CB: Mykola Matvienko – 6
Better than his defensive partner but still struggled with the runs in behind from the Scottish forwards/
LB: Bohdan Mykhailichenko – 5
Armstrong consistently exploited the space that was left in behind the full-back, and he didn’t do enough going forwards to compensate.
CDM: Taras Stepanenko – 5
Lasted just 45 minutes and was run ragged by the Scotland midfield.
RM: Andiiry Yarmolenko – 5
A quiet night for the former West Ham man who broke Scottish hearts in June. Was taken off after an hour having offered little.
CM: Ruslan Malinovskyi – 6
The Atalanta man could not work his usual magic in the Ukraine midfield.
CM: Oleksandr Pikhalyonok – 5
Didn’t win a tackle and didn’t create a chance, it is hard to know how he lasted until the 83rd minute
LM: Mykhaylo Mudryk – 6
Remained the biggest threat for Ukraine and showed his turn of pace at times, but had a quiet night by his high expectations.
ST: Artem Dovbyk – 5
Was kept very quiet by the Scottish defenders before being taken off on 67 minutes.
Substitutes:
Serhiy Sydorchuk – 5
Came on at the interval but could not get near the Scotland midfielders and had a poor outing in front of the defence.
Viktor Tsyhankov – 5
Did nothing to change the complexion of the game.
Roman Yaremchuk – 5
Was no more effective than Dovbyk, who he replaced.
Danylo Ihnatenko – N/A
Came on for the final ten minutes.
Oleksandr Zubkov – N/A
Came on for the final ten minutes.
Reaction:
GOOOOOAAAALLLLLL SCOTLAND! Ooh baby do you know what it’s worth… LYNDON DYKES IS THE BEST ON EARTH! pic.twitter.com/08vilEngbb
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) September 21, 2022
Some folk will tell you Lyndon Dykes shouldn’t be playing for Scotland. The rest of us know what he’s worth.
— Barry Anderson (@BarryAnderson_) September 21, 2022
What a performance from Scotland tonight. Could have been five or six but 3-0 is an excellent result against a decent side.
— Jason Soutar (@jbsoutar) September 21, 2022
Scotland’s home record in the Nations League:
WWDWWWW
◉ Goals scored: 13
◉ Goals conceded: 3
◉ Clean sheets: 5Still unbeaten. 💪 pic.twitter.com/L1Sav3MDLY
— Squawka (@Squawka) September 21, 2022
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